Monday Quotebook: Eric Fehr

Posted on February 11, 2013
by John Walton

The Capitals are heading south on this Monday, preparing for round two against the Panthers Tuesday night. Before departing for Florida, our Ben Raby (@BenRaby31 on the Twitter machine) caught up with Eric Fehr in the dressing room at Kettler Capitals IcePlex.

ON PLAYING WITH MATHIEU PERREAULT & JOEL WARD IN SATURDAY’S 5-0 WIN:

"We were forechecking and creating a lot of turnovers. We have the same mind set- when we [force] turnovers we want to take it to the net."

WHAT KIND OF MESSAGE HAVE YOU RECEIVED FROM ADAM? HE HAS SAID HE’D LIKE TO GET YOU MORE MINUTES IF POSSIBLE:

"I just do what I’m told. I play on the lines that I’m with and when I’m out there I try to create some offense and try to help our team win. That’s what I’ve got to do."

DO YOU NEED MORE MINUTES TO GET YOUR GAME GOING?

"Every player wants more minutes, obviously. I want to prove that I’m useful on the ice and I want to create a lot of opportunities offensively and find a way to get on the power play and help the team in that way. I’ve been a power play guy in the past and I’ve got to show that I can be offensive five-on-five to find my way onto the power play."

HOW WAS IT ADJUSTING TO THE LEFT WING?

"It wasn’t as bad as I expected. It’s tougher in the D-zone definitely with pucks and it’s tougher to see guys coming at you but once you get in the offensive end and in the neutral zone, it’s pretty much the same game."

WITH MARCUS SIDELINED, DO YOU SEE OPPORTUNITY TO CRACK POWER PLAY?

"It’s tough to say. I’ve got to do what I can with what I’ve been given. When I’m on the ice I’ve got to try to create offense, obviously the season didn’t start the way I wanted it to offensively, but I’ve just got to find a way."

YOU HAD A PLAYERS’ ONLY MEETING ON FRIDAY… HOW VALUABLE WAS THAT?

"I think we just needed to put the start behind us. I think a lot of guys were really focusing on the fact that we hadn’t won a lot of games and that we were really behind in the standings. It’s still early in the season, even though it’s shortened, we still realize that we can turn it around and I think the guys understand that and we’re a lot better off for it."

AFTER SATURDAY’S 5-0 WIN, YOU HAVE TO FEEL GOOD MOVING FORWARD:

"Yeah, I think with the way we won, it was a good game. I think we played solid in all areas, we didn’t just sneak one out and I think the guys can build off that and feel confident in the way we played and we’ve got to try to do it again because obviously Florida is going to try to turn that around so it’s going to be tough."

YOU HAVE TO FIGURE FLORIDA IS GOING TO BE ANXIOUS TO GET BACK AT IT ON TUESDAY:

"Definitely. It’s almost like a little bit of a playoff series where they have a chance to maybe analyze our game a little bit better and see what’s going to be coming at them. So we’re going to have to make sure that we stick to our system and play smart."

NOT ONLY THE PANTHERS, BUT YOU’VE ALSO GOT TAMPA BAY AND THE NEW YORK RANGERS ON THE ROAD TRIP:

"It was important for us to get a win at home and start feeling a little bit better before going on the road. Obviously it’s tough to win games on the road with lots of travel and stuff so we’ve got to be ready and we’ve got to win games to climb back into the standings here so it’s going to be important for us."